*Dara Moynihan and Ronan Lanigan in action during the 2024 Munster final. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
CLARE take on Kerry in Fitzgerald Stadium this Sunday in the side’s third Munster senior football final meeting in three years.
The Banner will hope to cause an upset against the Kingdom having lost the previous two provincial deciders to the same opposition in the Gaelic Grounds and Cusack Park.
Clare’s long trophy famine in hurling coincided with a whipping boy period in football for much of the twentieth century. In 1917, Clare defeated Cork by a margin of 5-4 to 0-1 to claim their first provincial championship, their sole honour for seventy-five years.
That year saw the footballers reach the All-Ireland decider against Wexford, the powerhouses of that day, who narrowly beat Clare 0-9 to 0-5. This was to be the third of a four in a row won between 1914 and 1918 by the Yellowbellies in a golden era for football in the county.
Clare’s 1917 Munster Final win was special as, like now, it was their third attempt in a row to claim the Munster Cup. The big two of Kerry and Cork had been victors in 1915 and 1916 respectively.
The Kingdom have grown accustomed to winning the Munster championship throughout the history of the GAA, winning the cup on eighty-five occasions. Clare were often on the receiving end of Kerry’s success, losing seven finals to them in 1919, 1924, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1936 and 1941.
Kerry seemed to take great pleasure in hammering Clare, giving the Banner such a hiding in the 1953 Munster Semi Final in Ennis that Clare were kicked out of the 1954 Munster Championship. Few at the time thought a 6-10 to 0-2 beating would be topped in their lifetime but the worst was yet to come for the long-suffering football supporters.
The infamous Milltown Massacre took place on a sun-splashed Henessy Memorial Park on the first of July 1979. The mere mention of that date continues to cause those in West Clare nightmares as Kerry ran out 9-21 to 1-9 winners, the highest score ever recorded in the Munster Championship. The sides were level after ten minutes at 0-2 each before all hell broke loose. Kerry legends scored for fun that day as Pat Spillane netted 3-1 and The Bomber Liston claimed a further 2-2. The Banner were left to pick up the pieces as Kerry easily advanced to the Munster Final.
The 1990s are widely seen as a golden era for Gaelic Games in the Banner County but it was the footballers who first brought glory west of the Shannon in 1992. After beating Tipperary 2-11 to 2-7, Clare braced for their first provincial final since 1941. They would again face Kerry in the Gaelic Grounds Limerick.
Vicious training sessions by Mayo native John Maughan steeled a Clare team brimming with talent in the form of stars like Seamus Clancy, Martin Daly, Tom Morrissey, Noel Roche and Joe Joe Rouine.
“There won’t be a cow milked in Clare for at least a week,” said proud Quilty man Marty Morrissey in his infamous commentary from the 2-10 to 0-12 triumph which earned the county its first provincial silverware in either code since 1917. A controversial semi-final loss to Dublin followed and Clare were beaten twice more by Kerry in the Munster Finals of 1997 and 2000.
This Sunday will see Clare attempt to claim their first provincial crown since that famous day. In another age that will no doubt be remembered for the county’s hurlers, the Banner footballers will look to finally ascend over the Kingdom and return provincial glory to Clare.
